Three figures await a fourth, in the darkness of a dirty backstreet. An opening to an adventure which takes heroes as well as villains around the world in search of answers and truth, but are instead greeted with lies, hate and deceit. All troubles seem to begin and end with one single individual, but how sure can we be that this is indeed his true form?...
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Chapters:

London. In a dirty, dark
backstreet behind an old, forgotten church, three figures were
discussing an important matter within the shadows of the night.
They stood in front of a small house, awaiting a certain someone,
needed to proceed with their business. The cold winter breeze
shrieked through the streets and shook every tree in its path,
stripping in of any leaves still remaining on its barren
branches.

'Where is he, for God's
sake' A small, fat, balding man of about fifty, bellowed
impatiently at his two companions. He had a thick moustache and
wore large round glasses.

'He'll be here, Henry.
Patience, you know he's never been one for punctuality, surely
some other business must have kept him occupied' said a young man
calmly in response.

'And you best not
lecture him when he gets here, we do not want any trouble,
especially now, when the deed is almost completed' added a short,
but rather attractive young woman, leaning against the wall of
the alley.

'Yes, yes alright. You
two cannot stop worrying can you? I mean for God's sake Bella, we
have been meeting with this man for months now, he wishes the job
done as much as we do, and he could not possibly find someone
else, it would delay the operation heavily' he sighed, and fixed
his glasses, which were slipping slowly of his nose 'Thomas, have
you got my cigars? You did bring them did you not?' the young man
smiled, and handed Henry a small wooden box he produced from his
coat pocket.

'Thank you, at least you
didn't forget this time'

Thomas gave Henry a
nasty look, lit a cigar and then turned away to stare into the
darkness. It was well past midnight when they heard footsteps
heading along the dark alleyway towards them. The figure was just
a silhouette in the night, barely visible as if he were cloaked
in very night itself. He slowly approached them, and then,
removing his hat, greeted them.

'Good evening gentlemen
and my lady of course. I apologize for the slight delay, I had
some…er…business to discuss with one of my old friends, let us
say, we had a talk' with that he smiled, and what an evil smile
it was.

'For Pete's sake Malum!
We have been waiting here in this god damn alley for three hours!
Three! And now you show up, and nonchalantly apologize. We could
all have been in our warm beds, eating a warm meal while you out
doing your business, but no! God damn it!'

'Calm down Henry' said
Thomas, and handed him a bottle of kill devil. It took a few
minutes for him to come back to his senses, meanwhile, Bella and
Thomas exchanged a few words with Malum.

'I apologize for that
outburst, I guess age is catching up with me, my temper is
getting much stronger, then again, so is my appetite' exclaimed
Henry, he laughed and shrugged Thomas with his elbow. The young
man gave a brief smile, and then looked at Bella, who did not
seem amused.

'Well then, Master
Malum, about the contract?' said Bella, looking at Malum
impatiently. He produced a small wooden box from a pocket inside
his coat.

'Inside this little box,
my friends, is what you seek' he smiled devilishly as he handed
the box to Bella, who handled it with great care.

'Give me that!' shouted
Henry, as he pulled the object out of her soft hands. He eyed it
carefully, as if trying to spot something wrong with it. After a
few brief seconds of turning it around, rubbing the sides with
his fingers and shaking it, he finally seemed satisfied.

'Very well, Master
Malum' he signed to Thomas, and he produced a small envelope from
his pocket.

'Splendid!' exclaimed
Malum 'We have completed yet another exchange without one of you
losing your heads!' he laughed, and his laugh echoed through the
darkness. 'Now then, my lady and gentlemen, time for the
continuation of our marvelous plan. I shall contact you each
individually, when the time is right, and certain affairs are
taken care of. I bid you a wonderful good night!' with that, he
smiled, turned around, and with that he was gone. He disappeared
into the darkness. The three companions continued to stand there,
talking for another few minutes, and to them, it seemed like they
could hear the wondrous Malum, humming a gentle, but grisly, tune
somewhere in the distance.

'Strange fellow, that
Malum' said Thomas turning around to leave. 'I too, bid ye
goodnight. See you when I see you' with that he blended into the
shadows. Bella and Henry gestured him a goodbye.

'I too, will be leaving,
my fat, mustached friend' said Bella with a smile.

'Ah, I have a room in an
inn close by, if you would join me for a few drinks, and perhaps
later…-'

Bella interrupted his
flirt.

'Sorry Hen, perhaps
another time. You'll have to try harder' she laughed, and with
that she was gone. Henry smiled, scratched his head, and with
that, turned on his heel, and he to, disappeared into the shadows
of the street.